School Uniforms

Even more than the cute plaid American school uniforms, I looooove Japanese sailor-style school uniforms. Perhaps because of the extremely limited view of the West that was available to the Japanese before 1900, Japanese educators decided that the most suitable western-style uniform for girls to wear to school would be a middy blouse over a navy blue knife-pleated pleated skirt, a white cotton middy for summer and a navy wool middy for winter. While there has been some change in recent years, jumpers and jackets replacing the middy in some high schools, the number of schools retaining the middy is surprisingly large.

The sailor-style uniform, "seira fuku" in Japanese (literally "sailor clothes"), commonly shortened to "seifuku" in print, has a large following in Japan. An extremely popular adult film genre consists of actresses cast in seifuku-clad youthful roles and newsstands are replete with magazines containing photos of cute girls so attired.

I tried for several years to find a reasonably priced supplier of seifuku who would make the uniforms in larger sizes and also ship them abroad. I wrote to any number of Japanese suppliers whose websites I tripped over in my search, getting exactly nowhere despite considerable effort.

When I went through the Sue Mills school uniform website, I was stunned to see they were offering a reasonable replica of Japanese seifuku, but the organization of their site is such that unless you know the name and location of the school which has specified the uniform, you cannot order it. This is a common "feature" of American school uniform suppliers' websites and the fact that they are losing additional business, for which they could charge (and get) a premium price, is lost on them

Imagine my surprise when I received the usual weekly update from the J-List, an online store based in Japan and run by an enterprising American and his wife, announcing, "We're happy to announce that J-List is teaming up with Matsukame-ya, a famous maker of Japanese high school uniforms, to make them available to everyone around the world. Matsukameya is a maker of top-quality high school uniforms, with a variety of styles and colors. Each uniform is hand-made for you when you order it, and a wide variety of sizes are available for fans around the world (actually, Matsukameya designs their female uniforms so that even men can wear them, if they are so inclined)."

J-List concludes, "They're great for cosplay at anime conventions!" And I say they are perfect, albeit a bit pricey, for LGs who do not have the opportunity to go to Japan and have one made to fit while there. The pricing may seem high, but the price is consistent with what Japanese pay for them in Japan. Clothing is very expensive in Japan, but not quite as expensive as housing. So, enough talk; on to the pictures:

	The one style which is stereotypically Japanese, best known for the Sailor Moon characters (this is Sailor Mercury), is the "sailor" style uniform and is found all over Japan in wide variety. Originally adopted at the time of the Meiji Restoration, the Western-influenced, middy-style sailor uniform has endured for over a hundred years..
	Available in both short and long sleeved version, the sailor top is customarily worn with a navy knife-pleated skirt. The sailor top is usually white cotton in the warmer months, with navy wool being reserved for winter. Once again, bobby socks and loafers are the customary footwear.
	The winter uniform is made entirely of wool and is quite warm. Notice the insignia on the sleeve indicating the grade of the student. Normally, the crest of the school would be affixed to the pocket.
	There has been considerable variation in the sailor uniform in recent years. It is no longer unusual to see a sailor top coupled with a plaid knife-pleated skirt. Much like parochial schools in the US, the girls try to wear their skirts as short as they can get away with, longer for grade and middle school, shorter for high school.
	Believe it or not, this is actually a school uniform offered by Sue Mills for an American school. It is a one-piece unit with sailor color. How very, very Japanese!
	And surprise, surprise Sue Mills also offers a middy-style top in both navy and white. I know I am just gonna have to get a complete sailor-style uniform from them for Camp.
	J-List's UNI-NCW06, an excellent winter-type navy blue and white sailor uniform top manufactured by Matsukame-ya, with warm construction, excellent detailing and a scarf and classic scarf clasp with flowery "H" letter. US$185 (top only)
	J-List's UNI-SA04, a complete Japanese white and navy blue sailor uniform top with excellent hand-sewn quality and detailing (this is the summer short-sleeve version of this uniform top), including scarf. US$85 (top only)
	J-List's UNI-SA10, a complete Japanese sailor uniform top with all detailing on the shoulders, sleeves and pocket (this is the summer short-sleeve version of this uniform top), complete with scarf and classic scarf clasp with flowery "H" letter. US$105 (top only)
	J-List's UNI-SAL01, a simpler Japanese white and navy blue sailor uniform top with one stripe and all detailing on the shoulders, sleeves and pocket, including scarf. US$105 (top only)
	J-List's UNI-SAL10, a complete Japanese white and navy blue summer-style sailor uniform top with all detailing on the shoulders, sleeves and pocket, including scarf and classic scarf clasp with flowery "H" letter. US$125 (top only)
	J-List's UNI-STF1, a great authentic winter-weight pleated skirt for one of Matsukame-ya's high school uniform tops above. Features heavy pleats, a sturdy clasp and zipper on the side. US$150
	J-List's UNI-STN1, a great authentic summer-weight pleated skirt for one of Matsukame-ya's high school uniform tops, shown above. The skirt is made of quality material in Nagoya, Japan, and features heavy pleats, a sturdy clasp and zipper on the side. US$135

From the above pictures, you should be able to pick out what you want. J-List is online at http://www.jlist.com/ and they make it easy to order from them. As I wrote above, the guy who runs J-List is Peter Payne, an American, who (along with his cohorts) is serious about his business. J-List is not a fly-by-night operation, accepts major credit cards and ships merchandise out promptly via air mail.

If you buy from J-List, please let them know that Taffy sent you. They need to know how people find their site to improve their marketing. While you are perusing their site, check out the other neat stuff such as "socks glue" and disposable ear cleaners.

If you manage to figure out how to order the seifuku style uniforms from Sue Mills, please let me know. I believe it is always prudent to have a second source. Who knows, Sue Mills could even contact me directly. Although unlikely, it could happen....

Taffy's Favorite Seifuku

(Japanese Sailor Uniforms)